Saturday 30 July 2011

All things plum

With regards to the Summer of Good Intentions this definitely counts as Making & Doing and Liking.  All Things Plum.

 Scrumping is one of my favourite pastimes from July to October with a 'bit of a wander' armed with a few carrier bags generally resulting in returning home with some sort of bounty.  This week I have been mainly picking wild plums of the variety that grow in parks, along canal sides, and in other random places.  They look like soft jewels hanging from the trees and at their most ripe fall to the ground in large amounts filling many bags.  But what to do with them?  I love plums but you can have too much of a good thing.  My Mum's answer is always jam; mine, wine but also chutney and pickle too.  So this week I embarked on a making spree involving bottling last years plum wine and making a few chutneys.

Wine from last year has been bubbling and gently popping away in my spare room.  Yellow plum, red cherry plum and a lovely mixed plum  looked lovely and bright in their demijons.  This week the mixed plum amber-rose was ready for bottling and a small amount of sampling.  I can report that it is nice although I think I should probably invest in a hydrometer as it is pretty potent.  The image below really doesn't do the colour justice.  There are 6 bottles, with another 12 to come which should be ready in time for Christmas.

Next is chutney.  So far, I have made two: a sweet and sour mixed plum and a spiced red plum.  I never stick to, write down or remember any recipe so it's different each time.  The spiced red plum below has raisins, dates, apples, all spice, ginger, mace, chilli and pepper, amongst other things.  One of the most satisfying and easy things to make.
            The mixture above becomes the very rich chutney on the right below.
Absolutely lovely with plum wine and salad from the garden.


I have managed to label these ones whilst still being able to remember what they are.  There are many jars and bottles in my cupboard with slightly ambiguous labeling, most notable being 'Spiced Apple Chutney with or without walnuts as I can't remember whether I put them in' and ' Red fruit wine 2008'.  You are more than welcome to come round for literally a random sampling.







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